Cons: QVP doesn’t include the ability to search
across file folders. While Avantstar thoughtfully included a forward
and back button so that a user can retrace his or her document
viewing history, it doesn’t include page forward and back buttons,
so a user can’t advance through the pages of a viewed document. QVP
doesn’t handle video or audio files — only images.

Verdict: QVP is an essential file viewing,
copying and printing utility that should be in the software arsenal
of every busy legal professional, offering great value at a low
price.

I have to admit that the latest release of a
desktop file-­viewing utility sounded a bit less than exciting, if
not superfluous. My first thought was, “who would need that today?”
Most legal professionals are armed to the teeth with the latest
software to do just about any task, and file incompatibility
problems are less of an issue (though still problematic, and at
times cripplingly so).

The longevity and steady evolution over the
years of Quick View Plus, by Avanstar, Inc., evidences the market
demand for such products, however. Debuting in 1996 as an
after-market add-on to Windows 95 that sold for under $100, Quick
View Plus 10 was released in August 2008.

QVP’s core feature is the ability to view files
in more than 300 Windows, Macintosh, Internet and DOS file formats.
Simply click on the name of just about any file, and it’s almost
instantly displayed in a side or bottom viewing pane, precisely as
if it were opened in the program that created it, since QVP retains
all formatting. Text, spreadsheets, databases, presentations and
graphics viewed in QVP are eye-pleasingly sharp and crisp.
Improvements include support for Windows Vista, Microsoft Word 2007,
Corel WordPerfect X3 and Microsoft Outlook Form Templates.

Downloading and installing QVP, much like the
program itself, is quick and simple. There is no user manual needed,
primarily due to its seamless integration with Microsoft Windows.
The Graphic User Interface is immediately familiar, not overly
complicated, and easy to use. Within minutes of browsing my hard
drive and home network, I had the answer to the question, “who would
need that today?” — everyone.

I soon discovered that QVP is particularly
suited for legal professionals, solving a host of needs. Primarily
marketed as a tool for viewing, copying and printing just about any
file, QVP shines even when file incompatibility isn’t an issue.
Opening e-mail attachments these days is a risky proposition (what
with viruses, worms and malicious macros), regardless of having the
latest antivirus programs and spam filters in place. Even with safe
e-mail attachments, opening software programs (to view sometimes a
single file) is an unnecessary waste of time, burdens PC system
resources, and usually requires the recipient to not only have a
license to one of any number of specialty or legacy software
programs, but often the correct program version.

Because QVP integrates with popular e-mail
clients, Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora and Lotus Notes users have
the option to open only e-mail attachments they choose, saving time
and increasing productivity. What’s more, files can be printed in
QVP without having to be opened or even viewed first (Quick Print,
accessible upon right-click of any file name), a feature I was
particularly pleased to find. The ability to copy and paste from
within a viewed file was a similarly nice surprise. The combination
of these features alone makes QVP a powerful tool for legal
professionals, and practically a necessity. QVP has been proven to
be an amazing tool for forensic PC examination, saving thousands of
dollars in software costs. With QVP, businesses are able to keep
software expenses to a minimum (i.e., down to just the programs they
actually need and use).

Finding the right document or other data file
on your PC never has been easier or faster, since most file content
is only a mouse-click away. Text documents can be viewed in Draft, Normal or Preview mode, and likewise other
types of files have minor viewing options. A special toolbar is
provided as a quick launch pad for programs that reside on your PC.
In fact, with QVP, you can preview files before opening them in any
program that uses the Windows “File Open” dialog box. For example,
in Word, you are at the Open File dialog box, and see your list of
files. Simply right-click on the name of a file and choose Quick
View Plus — it’s that easy. No more opening and then closing files,
which gets confusing and clutters up your recent documents history
(further confusing things, if you are not careful).

Though full-text searches are available for
text files, searching text in multiple folders isn’t an option. This
is unfortunate, in my view, and really one of the biggest obstacles
to doing away with the need for Windows Explorer altogether. Files
can be sent as attachments to an e-mail, directly from within QVP
(although, under Vista, the User
Account Controls mean an extra step). With QVP’s Quick Compress
feature, zip files easily are created or populated from any file
being viewed.

Web browser integration also is an option,
including Internet Explorer, Netscape and Mozilla Firefox, to permit
viewing of foreign file formats within those programs (outside of
QVP). QVP integrates with versions of Adobe Acrobat through Version
8. It also can view Acrobat files without the use of Acrobat.

If, like me, you dismissed QVP out of hand, you
might want to think again. Sure, many specialty programs offer free
viewers for download (PowerPoint, RealLegal E-Transcript Viewer for
depositions, and even Word, to name a few), but when was the last
time you had one of those installed before you needed it? Even as a
freelancer, when a program has this much to offer for less than $50,
I have one thing to say: Sold!